This is not our ancestor’s May Day. What began in Pagan times as a spring festival has become conflated with political protests over the past century or so, with May Day coming to symbolize the labor movement.
So it is that we can expect protests today in large cities, including Portland, to mark the occasion. In Seattle, the 18th Annual May Day March for Workers and Immigrant Rights is one of many events scheduled by various groups protesting what they consider to be various injustices.
While downtown protests can be aggravating for nearby workers or anybody who is trying to drive in the area, they also serve as a celebration of our status as Americans. Freedom of speech and the right to peaceably assemble are so imbedded in the American tradition that the Founding Fathers codified those rights in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. That amendment reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
This has been the subject of much debate in recent years, particularly during the rise of Donald Trump. Many opponents view Trump and his administration as a threat to the basic freedoms laid out some 230 years ago, and his frequent attacks upon a free press are particularly disconcerting. It’s true that The Columbian has a dog in that fight, but the issue is about protecting everybody’s rights, not just the press. The frequent protests that have greeted Trump’s policies have given rise to important discussions about the rights of the people to peaceably assemble.
The key phrase is “peaceably.” Many protests in recent months — including in Portland — have been accompanied by violence and vandalism. While those who engage in such activities should be subject to punishment as spelled out in the law, they also should measure the effectiveness of such actions in swaying public opinion.
Presumably, the goal of any protest is to express a belief and raise public awareness for a given cause. Millions of women across the country — and many men, as well — marched shortly after Trump’s inauguration in protest of his frequently demonstrated misogyny. Just nine days ago, hundreds of thousands of people in hundreds of cities participated in the March for Science in protest of the administration’s rejection of scientific principles in formulating policy. These events were largely devoid of violence or arrests, enhancing the effectiveness of protests.
But when protests do devolve into violence, those who desire to make their voice heard are only harming their own cause. One of Trump’s platforms in running for the presidency was that he would be the “law and order” president, which for many supporters meant the suppression of dissenting opinion when that opinion turns to anti-social behavior. When protesters do, indeed, lower themselves to that level, it simply serves to reinforce the opinions of Trump supporters.
May Day protests, which have come to symbolize the worker’s movement in celebration of the famous 1886 Haymarket riots in Chicago, have been a frequent magnet for violent behavior. Last year in Seattle, five police officers were injured when protestors clashed with law enforcement.
Protests are a valuable thread in the American fabric. But when they cross the line and become something more than peaceable assembly, they threaten to tear that fabric apart.
